On July 10, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") adopted final rules under Section 201(a) of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the "JOBS Act") removing the ban against general solicitation and general advertising in private offerings made in reliance on Rule 144A and Rule 506 of Regulation D under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act").

The campaign to prompt U.S. companies to adopt majority voting standards in director elections continues to gain momentum. In 2006 alone, more than 150 stockholder proposals relating to majority voting were filed, and more than 25 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 currently have some form of majority voting policy in place.